1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains generally to the field of surgical appliances and instruments, and more particularly to surgical tape utilized to restrain, hold, or partially or fully ligate body structures.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is commonly necessary during surgical procedures to manipulate organs and other structures within the operating area, and to hold these structures away from the area where the surgeon is working. This necessary restraint and manipulation of body organs and structures is often accomplished by passing a string-like material under the organ and pulling on the string to hold back the organ. It is apparent that such procedures must be accomplished with minimal trauma to the body organs being manipulated.
It is also a common surgical procedure to ligate tubular body structures such as blood vessels and organ ducts to prevent flow therethrough during the surgical procedures. Such ligations are commonly accomplished by applying tension to the vessel with a non-elastic suture material where the use of a hemostat is not necessary or desirable. Such tension and pulling on body structures by non-elastic materials and the like is often accompanied by damage to the rather fragile tissue structures. Substantially flat solid elastic tapes have been used in place of the non-elastic tapes, but if such tapes are twisted or not oriented properly; they may tend to dig into body tissues. Hollow open elastic tapes have also been utilized, but such hollow tapes will not easily roll when pulled along body structures and may twist in use, thereby presenting the possibility of injury to delicate body tissues.